New Bendix/King myWingMan Navigator App Version AvailableTouch and go even farther.
AHRS support. Interface improvements. Greater flight planning flexibility. The myWingMan Navigator app just got better with the recent version 1.1 release. The new update makes myWingMan
even more powerful with an enhanced user interface for flight planning, increased stability in preset modes, and support for external AHRS sensors. There's no easier way to fly informed. Just touch.
And go. Download the 60-day trial at no cost from the Apple app store or
visit BendixKing.com.

The first flight of a production Cessna Corvalis TTx -- the plane Cessna bills as "the world's fastest fixed-gear, single-engine piston aircraft in production" -- took place on Saturday, March 2,
at Independence, Kan., the company announced Wednesday. The Cessna turbocharged TTx evolved from the Corvalis (previously Columbia) line. Cessna says the plane is the first to fly with Garmin G2000 14
avionics. The power plant for the four-seater is a 310-hp Continental TSIO-550-C engine that the company says will pull the plane to a maximum cruise speed of 235 KTAS. Saturday's flight took the
aircraft to 17,000 feet and "a speed of 213 kts," according to the company.

The TTx best range of 1250 nm (with reserves) comes while flying at 25,000 feet (its operating
ceiling) at 45-percent power and carrying a payload of no more than 388 pounds. Maximum payload is 700 pounds. The aircraft is not pressurized. According to the company, maximum takeoff weight is
3,600 pounds and maximum landing weight is 3,420 pounds. Cessna announced at Sun 'n Fun 2012 that it had started production of the TTx. Along with Garmin G2000 avionics, Cessna has also incorporated
Garmin's Electronic Stability Protection System (ESP), which is designed "to help pilots keep the high-performance aircraft operating within the normal flight envelope." The aircraft comes with an
option for a flight into known icing system. Prior non-production examples have already logged 339 hours in the air.

A decision on whether or not the city of Grand Forks, N.D., will provide Cirrus Aircraft with a $950,000 loan will be delayed for at least a few days until the company answers questions about its
financial standing, the Grand Forks Herald reported Tuesday. Cirrus wants to use the loan to expand its Grand Forks production facility and hire workers for jobs that are currently outsourced. But
city officials noted in a meeting, Tuesday, negative financial reports about the company and the fact that the new loan would add more than 28 percent to monthly payments Cirrus was already making to
the city. Cirrus' William King objected to city's interpretation of the company's financial position.

According to the Grand Forks Herald, the new loan would raise Cirrus' monthly payment to $90,000, an increase of more than 28 percent above its current payment. Members of the city's Growth Fund
Committee noted Tuesday that Cirrus last year showed "significant losses" on its financial reports and that the company also has liabilities due in 2013. Cirrus Vice President for Business
Administration William King told the Grand Forks Herald, "What they are quoting were not even the correct numbers." King said that Cirrus has met its past obligations to the city and had 15 years of
history there. According to King, the loan would lead to savings for the company and create 10 new jobs. King says Cirrus is operating at a break-even point and he was "just stunned at the treatment"
the manufacturer was receiving from the committee.

912 Rotax Training Available at California Power SystemsCalifornia Power Systems still has space available for Rotax training in March. Our training facility is located at the Chino Airport (CNO) in California. If you own a Rotax engine and want
to do your own maintenance, you need to consider attending these courses. With over 40,000 912 engines produced, it's obvious these engines will continue to be the leader in light sport aviation.
For more information and to sign up, please call us at 1 (800) AIR‑WOLF or
visit 800-airwolf.com.

Pilots have been required to carry plastic certificates since 2010, but the deadline for replacing other paper FAA certificates, such as mechanic, repairman, flight engineer, or ground instructor,
is coming up March 31. You still have time to meet the deadline, as long as you apply online, which takes about 7 to 10 days for processing. Mail requests will take 4 to 6 weeks to fulfill. Each certificate replacement costs just $2. If you'd like to keep your old
paper certificate, you can, but it will no longer have any official authority.

Temporary certificates and student certificates are exempted from the rule, and will remain valid until the expiration date. The FAA launched its effort to replace paper certificates back in 2005,
mainly in response to security concerns. The new plastic cards are more difficult to counterfeit.

The Easy-to-Install IFD440 & IFD540 with Hybrid Touch
The IFD440 & IFD540 are plug-and-play replacements for GNS430 and GNS530 Series navigators, providing powerful NAV, COM, and Map capabilities. Featuring a Hybrid Touch user
interface, these new systems allow pilots to perform virtually all functions using dedicated knobs/buttons or via the touchscreen interface.

Aviation biofuel experiments took another step forward this weekend when a crew from the New Jersey-based Paramus Flying Club flew their Cessna 182 with an SMA diesel engine from Smithfield, R.I.,
to Kitty Hawk, N.C., on a blend of 50 percent biofuel and 50 percent Jet A. The biofuel, made by SkyNRG in the Netherlands, is refined from recycled cooking oil. "This was the first time this fuel has
been used in a general aviation diesel engine," Ross McCurdy, one of the pilots, told AVweb. Before taking off, McCurdy and Chris Howitt, president of the flying club, filled up the 182 on the
ramp, and took it for a long run-up and a fast taxi. "If anything, the engine seemed to run better on the biofuel blend," McCurdy said.

Howitt and McCurdy, along with flying club member Jochen Spengler and McCurdy's nine-year-old son Aidan, made the 500-mile trip on Saturday and returned the next day. McCurdy said the engine ran
just fine on the biofuel blend. McCurdy, who teaches high-school science in Rhode Island, hopes to take the biofuel airplane on a coast-to-coast flight, perhaps as soon as this summer. His students
helped with research and planning of the weekend's flight, he told AVweb, and will also be involved in the next phase.

File Size 6.7 MB / Running Time 7:19

Ross McCurdy, a science teacher and private pilot in Rhode Island, worked with members of the Paramus Flying Club in New Jersey to test a 50/50 biofuel blend in their diesel 182. After
returning from a 1,000-mile test flight, he talked with AVweb's Mary Grady about how it went, why they did it, and what he hopes to do next.

Get Masimo's iSpO2 at AeroMedix.com
Masimo is an American manufacturer of hospital-grade oximeters famous for holding a signal in high vibration/motion environments. With iSpO2, they have
developed software that will run on an iPod/iPad/iPhone and married it with their pulse oximeter design. You can watch your oxygen saturation as you climb to altitude and observe your heart rate.
Very helpful for setting the proper oxygen flow.
Get yours today at AeroMedix.com!

Consumer technologies that use GPS to track aircraft in flight are adding features all the time, and this week one of the more popular vendors, Spidertracks, of New Zealand, announced new capabilities in its latest device, the Spider S5. The new unit retains the small footprint of the earlier models, but adds integrated
Bluetooth communications to enable two-way messaging, SOS alerting, and real-time flight tracking, the company said on Wednesday. The S5 is portable, and no installation is required. Using a free app
called Spidertxt, users can connect their smartphones to the S5 unit via Bluetooth, and send and receive text messages to any mobile phone on the ground.

The system uses the Iridium satellite network to make those connections. The Spidertxt app is now available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, the company said this week, as well as Android and
Blackberry smartphones and tablets. Spidertxt can also send short messages to email. Consumer tracking devices like Spidertracks were recently cited as a factor in helping to improve aviation's safety record in Alaska, where search-and-rescue is especially
challenging.

Continental Motors Factory PartsA Look Inside Our Engines  Did you know that all major component parts for CMI engines are manufactured in modern production cells that continuously pursue quality and value while
reducing costs to you? CMI's original quality equipment parts, to name a few, include magnetos, cylinders crankcases, fuel injection systems, crankshafts, camshafts, pistons, rods, rocker arms, and
more. To get your engine quote, contact the customer service and sales team at (800) 326‑0089 or (251) 436‑8292.

A small hovering drone was reported by an Alitalia pilot near New York's John F. Kennedy Airport about 1 p.m. on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. "The FAA is investigating a report ... [the
pilot] saw a small, unmanned or remote-controlled aircraft while on final approach to Runway 31 Right," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told CNN. The drone came within about 200 feet of the Alitalia
airplane, according to the FBI. It was described as black in color with four propellers, and about three feet wide. The sighting was about four to five miles west of the airport at an altitude of
about 1,500 feet, the FAA said. That location would put the drone somewhere over Brooklyn, according to CNN. The Alitalia pilot took no evasive action and the aircraft landed safely.

Controllers warned other approaching aircraft about the sighting, but at least two pilots said they didn't see it, CNN reported. Recreational drones are not allowed within three miles of an airport
without prior permission. They also are supposed to stay below 400 feet and within sight of the operator. The FBI has asked the public to report any information about the aircraft
or the operator. "Our paramount concern is the safety of aircraft passengers and crew," said Special Agent in Charge John Giacalone.

Last Week's Question: Results

Have an idea for a new "Question of the Week"?
Send your suggestions to
qotw@avweb.com.

NOTE: This address is only for suggested "QOTW" questions, and not for "QOTW" answers or comments. (Use this form to send "QOTW" comments to our AVmail Editor.)

Your FBO's Insurance Protects Them, Not You
Most insurance carried by the FBO or aircraft owner protects their interests, not the renter's. That's why we created Avemco® Non-Owned Insurance. It
could save you thousands in damages to a rental aircraft and thousands more in injury liability lawsuits and legal fees!

The weekend manager of a New Mexico airport questioned a Texas pilot's intention to take off in a heavy crosswind that may have contributed to his Mooney crashing and killing all four occupants,
including his 13-year-old niece. "'Are you really going to try to fly in this weather?'" Angel Fire Airport manager Harvey Wright quoted his weekend manager as asking the pilot. "And his answer was,
'Yeah.' I guess he felt confident in his abilities in his skills, and in the plane." Wright made the comment to the San Antonio Express News. Pilot John Phillip Verhalen III, 33, of San
Antonio, was killed along with his sister Sara Verhalen, 41, and niece Chloe Marie Jameson, 13, both from the Dallas area; and girlfriend Jennifer Woodward, 26 of San Antonio. Weather records indicate
the crosswind far exceeded the demonstrated crosswind component in the POH.

According to Weather Underground there were sustained winds of 30-35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph directly across the runway when Verhalen took off. According to another witness, a gust seemed to
cause a wing to dip shortly after takeoff and the aircraft crashed between the runway and a highway. Wright said Verhalen was the only pilot who attempted to fly on Sunday and added that local terrain
makes the wind even trickier to handle. "We sit in a bowl," he said. "When the wind comes over the west ridge, it accelerates and tumbles and is hard for even experienced pilots to navigate."

AgustaWestland has unveiled an unmanned electric tiltrotor technology demonstrator at Heli-Expo, which runs until Thursday in Las Vegas. The aircraft, which features twin rotors powered by
independent electric motors, was built in less than six months and has flown a few times, tethered and untethered. The aircraft is entirely electric with no hydraulic system. Although it's a drone, it
has what appears to be a handy place for a cockpit up front, but the lack of redundancy in the powerplants (there is no transmission linking the two rotors in case one of the motors fails) likely
ensures this aircraft will remain pilotless. Although limited by the battery power they can store, electric aircraft have some advantages over their petroleum-powered counterparts, say AgustaWestland
officials.

It was stressed that the electric vehicle has a low noise and heat signature and can fly in conditions that cause trouble for air-breathing aircraft. AgustaWestland CEO Daniele Romiti said
tiltrotors are the way of the future for some helicopter applications. "We strongly believe in the tiltrotor concept as the future of high speed rotorcraft flight as it offers much greater speed and
range than compound helicopter technology," Romiti said. A hybrid version is envisioned.

The Phillips 66® Aviation Wings Card  The Card That Does More
When your primary business is aviation, your primary fuel charge card should be the Phillips 66® Aviation Wings Card. With more locations, more
rewards, and superior service, your Wings Card is convenient and flexible. Use it with your WingPoints® Rewards Card for twice as many points! Corporate
flight departments can apply online today for the card that does more.
Click here to start now.

While the Dow Jones tears off to new highs in early 2013, aircraft sales remain in the dumps. The two used to be joined at the hip, but not anymore. Or at least not yet. On the AVweb
Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli runs through the data but is even more clueless than usual about what's going on.

After just four years on the job, AOPA President Craig Fuller announced that he's leaving the association. That represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the board in finding a
replacement. One thing's for sure, says Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog: We not looking for more business as usual.

Think about the last time you made a truly beautiful landing. Remember how the passengers cheered and the local FSDO inspector paused, in the middle of a ramp-check, to shake your hand? You'll feel
even prouder when you ace this quiz. (Plus we ask, "If you were the Secretary of Transportation or FAA Administrator, what would be your top priority, and who would you nominate as your
successor?")

An oil filter is an oil filter, right? Generally, yes  but there are some subtle differences between the two aviation oil filters on the market, Champion's line and the newer
Tempest product. Aviation Consumer's Larry Anglisano recently compared the two brands, and this video summarizes his findings.

Peter Drucker Says,"The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Create It"
It's easy for your company to be more proactive, flexible, and entrepreneurial with AVweb's cost-effective marketing programs. Discover the benefits of instant response, quick copy
changes, monthly tracking reports, and interactive programs. To find out how simple it is to reach 255,000 qualified pilots, owners, and decision-makers weekly,
click now for
details.

I spent three months working out of West Houston Airport doing Aerial Survey, and this FBO was the best I have used during my eight months on the road. They were always very professional and
courteous. Breakfast is catered free for customers every morning. There are massage chairs with big-screen TVs, a 3-D cinema, and an excellent flight planning room with multiple computers. The line
staff is very efficient and will have you back in the air in no time with a clean windshield and full tanks. Reduced fuel prices on the weekends. Truly a first-rate FBO!

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The AVwebFlash team is:

PublisherTom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation PublicationsPaul Bertorelli

Editor-in-ChiefRuss Niles

WebmasterScott Simmons

Contributing EditorsMary GradyGlenn Pew

ContributorsKevin Lane-Cummings

Ad CoordinatorKaren Lund

Avionics EditorLarry Anglisano

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb home page readers every
week. Over 80% of our readers are active pilots and aircraft owners. That's why our advertisers grow with us, year after year. For ad rates and scheduling, click here or contact Tom Bliss, via e-mail or via telephone [(480) 525-7481].

Click here to send a letter to the
editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your phone or handheld device), there's also a text-only
version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.